Pittsburgh officials want to expand access to public bathrooms Downtown, where restrooms can be hard to find.
City officials and the nonprofit Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership last September rolled out the “Pittsburgh Potty” initiative, which saw temporary bathrooms installed near the Gateway Center T Station Plaza and the intersection of Smithfield Street and Strawberry Way.
The bathrooms — which came on trailers and had running water, heating, cooling and electricity — were in place until February. They were removed when public restrooms were opened inside the nearby Smithfield-Liberty Parking Garage.
Now, the city is looking again to team up with the partnership to launch an expanded program that would include 11 public restrooms scattered throughout Downtown for the next two years.
Exact locations being considered were not immediately available.
Legislation introduced to City Council Tuesday would allocate $600,000 in federal covid-19 relief money to install and maintain the bathrooms.
City Council President R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, acknowledged officials previously had encouraged people to use a public bathroom in the nearby parking garage, but said it would be more cost-efficient to return to the portable bathrooms instead.
Lavelle said corporate donations sent to the partnership would provide additional funding for the program. The partnership did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Olga George, a spokesperson for Mayor Ed Gainey, said a feasibility analysis is currently underway to determine whether permanent public bathrooms could be included in an ongoing rehabilitation of storefronts around Mellon Square.